


As the old Irish proverb says...

by ChloShow



Category: Better Call Saul (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 08:27:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6510508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloShow/pseuds/ChloShow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jimmy tallies up his current situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As the old Irish proverb says...

Jimmy didn’t understand neutrality. People either loved him or hated him, and anything in the middle was certified “pre-hate.”

He knew Kim loved him—most of the time. There were times where she was too close to the “pre-hate” and, God forbid, “ _hate_ ” categories for his comfort, but he managed to sway her through charming voicemails, jokes, and free booze. Sometimes it would take a while to get back in her good graces, but there was always a finite amount of things he could do or say to win her over again.

Chuck hated him. That was a simple, clear-cut case of hatred. There wasn’t a single reason why someone who loved him wouldn’t offer reciprocal support for his professional goals. Or maybe Chuck bailing him out of jail and getting him a job in the mail room at HHM was the extent of his support, and Jimmy was supposed to pay it back as a loan with a 30% interest rate. Whatever that meant, it didn’t sound like love to him.

Howard was a strange case. There was no reason why Howard _should_ like him, but he never really showed any indication of his personal opinion of Jimmy. He treated Kim like shit, but that was probably more Chuck’s fault than anything. Howard was agreeable but like—well—like how a lawyer was agreeable. Something told him he was an Iago-type guy, but if that meant dethroning Chuck’s Othello, so be it.

Old people loved him. Schweikart and Cliff Main hated him. Marco had loved him even though Jimmy had cut contact with him for 10 years, which in hindsight was an asshole move. Tuco Salamanca hated everyone except his abuelita. Mike hovered between “hate” and “pre-hate,” but that didn’t interfere with their business relationship. Tallying up where he stood with everyone took considerable energy, but knowing his status with those he might come in contact with was invaluable to organizing his life without ambiguity.

So obviously, Ignacio Varga was a problem. Nacho had saved his life and subsequently wanted to go into business with him, but he’d also given him shit after Jimmy cleared his name in the whole Kettleman debacle. He could easily lump him in with Tuco and treat him as a threat, but that didn’t seem fair. Nacho was calculating and scary as hell for sure, but did he hate Jimmy enough to kill him? Not likely; if he were on the cartel’s bad side, he’d be long buried by now.

People were mostly predictable, and he judged everyone on that maxim. Criminals did criminal things. Howard would always have a stick up his ass. Chuck would always hold him back. And as much as he may forget it sometimes, when it came to her job, Kim would always do the right thing. But he didn’t know Nacho’s next move, and more importantly, he didn’t know if his next move involved Jimmy.

So in a world of known variables and against his ridiculous optimism, he felt in his stomach that the unpredictable would always find him, and he wouldn’t be ready.


End file.
